Ryan Shazier’s NFL career ended with a spinal cord injury. Now he helps patients in need.

As a linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ryan Shazier raced across the field with uncommon speed to tackle opposing players.

Shazier quickly established himself as a star, with his peers voting him among the top 50 players in the National Football League. Then at age 25, in just his fourth season, Shazier’s career was over.

On Dec. 4, 2017, Shazier suffered a devastating spinal cord injury in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals. He was told that the odds are he wouldn’t walk again.

“I was one of the fastest people on the planet,” Shazier says. “Now I couldn't walk. So mentally, that's a lot to deal with.”

Shazier suffered a spinal cord contusion, which paralyzed his lower body. He defied the odds and managed to walk again, a prospect which seemed unfathomable in the days after the injury. But he’s taken big steps in other ways.

He has established the Ryan Shazier Fund, which helps those grappling with spinal cord injuries. The fund offers financial assistance to help pay for additional rehabilitation sessions or help with other needs, including accommodations at homes and support for caregivers.

In a conversation with Chief Healthcare Executive®, Shazier, who is 33, says he wants to help those who faced some of his challenges.

“When I got injured, it was something that I didn't really know much about,” Shazier says. “I didn't have a big understanding of the spinal cord community and the lack of resources and support.”

(See part of our conversation with Ryan Shazier. The story continues below.)

‘Meet people where they are’

Earlier this month, on the eighth anniversary of the injury that ended his football career, Shazier returned to UC Medical Center in Cincinnati. He visited staff that cared for him in the days after the injury.

“That's why I wanted to go back two weeks ago and just basically say thank you, because of the support that they gave,” he says, adding, “I just wanted to say thank you, because I wouldn't be where I'm at if it weren't for those wonderful doctors and nurses.”

Shazier was later transferred to UPMC, where he continued his recovery. When Shazier suffered the injury, he initially envisioned a return to the gridiron. But doctors told him that he had a 20% chance of even walking again.

“I wanted to get better and tried everything I could to learn how to walk and to get back to being able to play football. And I didn't understand how serious it was in the moment,” Shazier says.

He says his conditioning and his experience with years of rigorous training aided his recovery, but he still had to confront the reality of his situation.

“Nothing really prepares you for this,” he says. “There's nothing you're going to deal with … that's even relatively close.”

While he would not be able to resume his NFL career, Shazier regained the ability to walk, albeit with a slight limp.

Now, he’s aiming to help others with similar injuries through his foundation. Shazier says people have been amazed by his recovery, but many don’t understand how difficult the road is for people with severe spinal cord injuries.

“They see in my recovery, and it took so many rehab sessions for me to get there, and I'm still not 100% healthy. It took so much for me to be able to get there. So just to be able to give that back is everything to me,” Shazier says.

“This is a journey that you need as much community, as much support as you can possibly get to help you overcome it,” he says. “And that’s one of the reasons that I want to start this fund, to be able to give the same impact to those who were struggling like I was.”

The Ryan Shazier Fund offers financial support to help patients get more rehabilitation sessions. Shazier is based in the Pittsburgh area, but his fund goes beyond the Steel City.

The fund has given more than $1 million in stipends to families, and recently expanded. It is now offering services to patients across Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio.

Shazier says it’s “really exciting” to have a bigger reach.

“I think it's very important just to try to help as many people as possible,” he says.

Many patients with spinal cord injuries need more rehab sessions than they get, and Shazier says he had well over 100 rehab sessions.

“After a spinal cord injury, some of the costs associated with it after the injury could be up to over a million dollars, you know, within the first year,” Shazier says.

“If their rehab is going well, and they feel like they're making progress, and they may want more rehab to help them get to that next step, we may actually pay for more rehab sessions,” he says.

Shazier says the fund provides assistance in other ways, including helping patients who have transportation needs to get to their health providers. In some cases, the fund has helped individuals who need work done in their homes to allow them to move around more freely.

“We kind of meet people where they are,” Shazier says.

The fund also aims to help caregivers of individuals who have suffered spinal cord injuries, connecting them with others in their situation so they have people to talk to who understand their new reality. The fund also can provide financial assistance to caregivers, including transportation needs or counseling.

“Most individuals with a spinal cord injury, everybody asks about them,” Shazier says. “The person that's taking care of them, their life has changed just as the person with the injury.”

‘Building community’

Shazier says he’s gratified to help others struggling with spinal cord injuries, and he especially wants them to know that they aren’t alone.

“They felt the same way I felt,” he says. “They felt scared, they felt lost. They didn't know anybody that was dealing with the same type of injury. So now to be able to provide that support to them and just let them know that we're here if they need anything, we're trying to help them reach whatever goal that they have as well … to me, I think that's the biggest thing. Just building community.”

“When it comes to anybody that's going through some type of adversity, it takes a village and it takes a community,” Shazier says. “I think that's the thing that I really care about the most.”

While Shazier says he’d like to help everyone, he’s grateful that the foundation has grown to the point where it can offer services in three states.

“I just think it's just taking it one step at a time, growing it slowly but surely, but just trying to just be there, because the biggest thing is just providing quality of life to people and until we find a cure,” he says.

Now that the fund is aiming to help more people, Shazier says the foundation has exceeded his initial expectations.

“I remember when I first came up with it, I didn't know much about what a foundation was, and I was just like, I just want to help people with a spinal cord injury,” he says.

“And now, just to be able to hear the stories, and understanding how we've been able to allow people more opportunities and allow them to live freely, it's been nice. I'm just happy, and I'm a guy that is constantly want to keep going and keep growing, and turn this into something that we can help as many people as possible.”